I enjoy reading these cord cutter threads. I see a lot of articles that downplay streaming because they try to lump in Netflix and Hulu and internet costs. But, most people already have these, especially internet. So to say a person pays $100 or whatever for cable, but streaming would have to be an extra $50/month for internet which the person already has, isn't fair. I'll throw in a real life example of the cost of cutting the cord:
I was already paying for Amazon Prime ($8.25 paid up front ($99/yr)) and Netflix ($10). I also already had a Roku ($90) and Roku Stick ($50).
I bought a
Tablo (OTA DVR) for all my locals and then some. It allows you to record and stream Roku, Chromecast, etc. $200
I also had to buy an
external HDD. $55
I use Playstation Vue Core Slim (which allows 5 streams and has a cloud DVR) for ESPN and Fox Sports as well as on demand NBC, ABC and FOX (other channels too, like AMC for Halt and Catch Fire, etc). You do not need a Playstation for this - you can sign up online and activate using a Roku. $35
I also subscribe to HBO Now since I cancelled DirecTV. $15
I paid about $130 for DirecTV for a DVR and 3 other boxes). $8.25 went to Amazon and $10 went to Netflix for a grand total of around $148.25 a month.
I paid around $255 to cut the cord (that is, for the Tablo) which is about months of DirecTV.
Now I pay $50/month for Vue and HBO Now. Including Prime and Netflix, I took my bill from around $148.25 a month to about $68.25 a month for every channel I ever watched and then some.
So, taking into account the cost of cutting the cord and my monthly costs, I will pay about $89.50 for the first 12 months vs the $148.25. After 12 months, this drops to the $68.25 a month mentioned above. This drops even more when basketball season is over and I cancel Vue.
TL;DR version:
I used to pay $148.25, now I pay $68.25. Which will drop to $33.25 when I cancel Vue when nothing worth watching is on.